Olympics boost for Fat Face

Fat Face, the private equity-owned fashion retailer, said its store next to the Olympic Park smashed revenue forecasts during the Games, as it posted a dip in annual profits.

Anthony Thompson, the chief executive of the 199-store retailer, said its sales at the Westfield Stratford City shopping centre in east London were "significantly ahead of expectations" between 27 July and 12 August. He added the retailer expects a similar uplift from the Paralympic Games, which start on Wednesday.

Fat Face, which was bought by private equity firm Bridgepoint for £360m in 2007, saw its underlying profits fall by 3 per cent to £24.1m over the 53 weeks to 2 June.

Mr Thompson hailed a "resilient" performance for Fat Face, bolstered by a decision to run substantially less price discounting than over recent years.

He said: "The results demonstrate that even in a weaker market the team can build a stronger business and solid foundations for recovery when better economic times emerge."